Most artists are introverts or socially awkward. They come together because they share similar interests.
Another method is a friend that is an extrovert, make him a manager - I was just reading ASAP Rocky blew up because of Yams who had a popular blog, he's a die hard hiphop fan/hipster. He met Rocky and Rocky could tell dude had an eye for fresh things and things that were going to be popular. He had yams help him find that sweet spot, yams had him incorporate popular themes from all regions, from being egotistical (lil b), to purp and lean (south), to urban high fashion (big in Ny underground, now mainstream) , Yams helped him beat the gun, combine all the (what was then just hipster shyt) things that were going to be popular and push him. Yams just started off as a fan, and Rocky being charismatic told him he wanted him to be his 'director'. Yams isn't charismatic, he's not creative, but he has a great eye for creativity, and is very social, great at networking and loves art with the passion, he's the dude that is every where, at every event, knows everyone. you want that kinda person behind you. Artists tend to look unto other artists for that, and that just never works. Giving beats to other producers will just end up in critique, rather than a supporter. Ya gotta remember both are 2 creative minds, they'll either see competition, steal, envy or hate. Even if they are a fan of your work, why would they push you when they're trying to push their own work? see. It can only be a 'link' and work if one is very social (rare trait for artists) and the other is a follower willing to fall under that persons wing without taking any shine. (See present day rap groups, ghostwriters or designers that have subdesigners that work behind the scene under the banner)
There's a reason artists need labels/companies, they provide a marketing team.
But this is a new era. We have the internet, and most people are chasing that lucky lotto. or can afford a marketing team (I suspect rich ass Macklemore did this, gotta be) The best and more assuring thing to do is grind, start from bottom and build. Basically find a person or team/fan/fans/mouthpiece willing to back your creative brain, 1 that can network for you. In order to find those people, you have to either go outside or bombard the net with loads of material in underground (insert art) oriented sites. They are the people that are hardcore fans of (insert art) and don't mind listening to unknown people, they live and breath it, they're the backbone of the community, they're hipsters, always looking for the new, the fresh, they have tumblrs and pride themselves for being forward thinkers, they envy artists (because they love it but cant be it). find a person or 2 that see your vision, are a fan of your work, and would love to be on your team, if they contacted you, you know off top they're outgoing, see how easy that wasA lot of times artists are too busy looking for a big break, when the 10 people that listened to your track, or love your music could be the people to help you grow. Make 10 turn into 100, by using the 10. Artists tend to not say thank you and overlooking them for someone that's already in the scene. Those 10 fans are more reliable than a cosign from C level artist who's technically your competitor.
Keef was only big on his block, then the set, then the gang, and those people shared his music to the next neighboring hood, who then showed their classmates, who then showed their cousins out of state. The buzz made everyone pay attention. When you buzz, artists will come, then labels/companies will come. That's how your buzz will grow, by cherishing, talking, and charming your tiny fanbase whether it be your block or the 4 people subscribed to you. The mistake many people make, they get 3 comments on their track and never look into the people that commented, never talk to them, never say thank you, never ask for their email/aim, they just ignore them and keep their eyes on the views. They want it easy.
You gotta build strong roots to have a healthy tree. You hear how Lil B blew up his based world? It wasnt overnight. Dude used to post 2 tracks a day and bombard his music on myspace. He had like 10 fans. He hit up those 10 fans and would shout them out, make a chat room, laugh it up with them. He was literally just making music for those 10, then 10 grew into 100. How do you think he got a cult following who had already known he was trolling 2 years before everyone else did? He was in tune with his core fans. Even til today you sometimes see Lil B on WSHH commenting on his video, replying to as many people as he can, saying thank you. Happy fans will rock with you heavy. Look at B no matter how many people called him wack, they pledged to him. 5 years later, you got TaskForce bytch mob, and other artists knocking on his door to get a feature and get some buzz dust off him. You hear how Odd Future was formed? Just a bunch of kids who met on myspace, and then hooked up while meeting other people along the way. . Just a bunch of no namers who had no more than 100 views having fun and having a small forum where they just had fun. Tylers hipster fans rocked with him, hipste fans of all parties combined to make one big core fanbase. Tyler is charismatic so he kept everyone interested, always kept his fans happy, then those hipsters showed other hipsters, (if they think its cool it must be really cool mentality), the masses will eventually catch on.
As for myself, my problem, is I'm a perfectionist, I let my folks down all the time, people will hit me up like "you got any new designs? music? this is great. Im like nope.6 months later they forgot about me lol. I can lock myself in a room for 48 hrs create one track and 1 design, and then hate it a month later. How the hell can I accumulate material when I keep scrapping shyt? Im the other style of artist.....the lazy one.
There's a lot of us out there. I was just listening to this chicago girl group called Pretty N Pink. These broads are fukking legitI mean they have some serious shyt, they could be bigger than Sasha Go Hard, but these broads aint got one mixtape, I emailed one of them, told them their work was great when was the mixtape, I got no reply. It just reminded me of me.
I remember emailing Lil B 3 years ago about an instrumental he used and got a reply.See the difference in artists? If you ain't on yet, there is no reason for you to be shunning your core fans. It's something I learned a cpl months ago. and now I share this golden knowledge with you all.
You made a lot of great points, a lot of artists tend to miss out on, and what a lot of artists are lacking now a days, a person behind them that knows what the fukk they're doing and can help with developing them.
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faster than working a desk job. 
preach
